Logging on Turkey Creek: This logging operation was very unique. It was situated at the headwaters of Turkey Creek. This creek is a small stream that flows through the part of Hawks Nest State Park into New River near Amsted. The job site was very steep most of the area was so steep horses could not safely walk up slope to skid logs down slope to the landing.
This was my only experience at hand logging or in old lumberjack terminology, “ball hooting.” Every morning Dad lumberjack terminology ball hooting every morning dad would take brother bill and I to the job site. We walked up the slope to where we had previously hid our tools a crosscut saw two axes two peaveys two felling wedges and eight foot measuring pole. We worked all morning and two or three hours after our brown bag lunch felling and sawing trees to log lengths.
This operation was mostly done in June and July. The bark was relatively easy to remove on the side where the log would lay naturally. We nosed the log on the small end by chopping the cut edge at an angle about an inch deep; the log would then gilde without digging into the ground.
Then the fun began. We turned the log with peaveys until the nosed end pointed down slope; the log was rotated to the debarked side making ground contact. Immediately the log began sliding down slope when all the logs were debarked and nosed we hid our tools except for the peaveys .
We then literally chased all the logs into the ravine. The peaveys were used to free logs stopped by other trees stumps root walls or rock boulders. We chased all logs to a ravine in this manner where the logs could then be skidded by horses to the landing. We would then hide our two peaveys and catch our ride with dad to the farm.
We started the job with our favorited team of horses, Dan and Andy. One day Bill and I stayed at the farm and brother Don went to the logging job to help as needed. No timber felling that day. There was an abandoned coal strip mine further up the hill from the logging area. The horses were standing a few feet upslope on the side of a ravine.
Our horses had been trained to move quickly out of the path of falling trees and vehicles moving in their direction. On that fateful day a large boulder broke loose, probably from the abandoned coal strip mine site. It came down the hill moving directly at the horses. The horses had never encountered this potential; danger and made no effort to move out of the downward path of the boulder.
The boulder slammed into Andy just behind his right front leg. The impact knocked both horses to the ground and they tumbled into the ravine. It took several minutes to untangle the horses and gets them on their feet. Dan was in a good shape but Andy had a large open gash behind his right front leg that was bleeding profusely. Dad managed to walk the horses about a quarter mile to the barn. Dad called a veterinarian at the landowner’s house. He arrived shortly and sewed up the wound. He waited until the bleeding stopped and left additional medicines. Andy hung on for three days before passing.
Now the job was giving last rites to a faithful horse. The first problem was getting a 2,000 pound dead horse out of the barn. We finally succeeded using the log truck and the other horse, Dan. The horse carcass was dragged up the road to the landing site with the log truck. We then used Dan to drag his dead mate to a nearby area with lots of brush and tree tops from previously cut timber. Dad helped Bill and I cover the carcass with brush and tree tops. We lit the woody material. Soft hearted dad couldn’t take it any longer and left the scene.
Bill and I were there for over eight hours cutting and dragging woody material using Dan, Andy’s mate. By night fall when dad returned to take us home Andy had been reduced to ashes that was the first and last time I ever helped cremate a horse it was definitely not a fun day.
Another unique event occurred on this tract. There was a large tall straight red oak tree growing by a 10-15 foot rock outcrop. Only an inch or two spaces was between the tree and the rock outcrop. The tree was sound and would make very valuable lumber when sawed. There was not space to use our 3 man crosscut saw to fell the tree.
We did not own a chainsaw, how can this problem be resolved? Well dad stepped forward with his trusty double bit axe; it took over an hour but he kept chopping with his axe, all from the same side of the tree, until it fell. No doubt that was the largest notch I ever saw.
Another incident occurred in Amsted. One morning we stopped the truck at a service station for gas there was a truck there needing some repairs. It was enroute to a county fair. We filled up gas and went to work.
Returning home that evening we noticed the service station was just a pile of smoking runnel. Later we learned the repair work involved using welding torch near the gas tank. The tank blew up killing the repairman and destroying the building and truck.
Logging in the Landisburg Area: The largest log – I was a junior in high school when Dad bought a timber tract near Landis burg. The largest tree was a red oak about six feet in diameter at stump height. A local crew, the Osborne brothers were the timber cutters on this job. One brother had been out west earlier and was impressed with the length of cross cut saws used on many logging operations. He brought a 10-footer back.
The Osbornes 10 foot crosscut saw was called into action to fell that six foot in diameter red oak along a pasture fence. They felled the tree without difficulty. The butt log was sixteen feet. The second 16 foot long was out where the tree forked. Both end of that second log had the dame diameter. By the Doyle log rule both logs had the dame board foot volume. The forks of the tree each yielded one additional log.
The two large logs had to cross a relatively level pasture field to the landing. I was the teamster that day using Dan and Bell, when the two largest logs needed to be moved to the landing. Dad knew the logs were too big and heavy for the horses to drag them two logs. So I queried, “How can we get these two logs to the landing if the horses cannot skid them there?”
Dad confidently said. “Son goes up there in the woods and cut a five or six foot section of a small gaggling at least five inches in diameter. Dad was waiting with the horns and a 100 feet steel cable.
I returned with a round five-foot timber about five inches in diameter. Dad was waiting with the horns and a 100 foot steel cable.
He took my timber and cut a long tapering angled surface on the small end with his axe, with the aid of the horses and our peeves, we moved the log perpendicular to the five-foot timber. We rolled the log onto the timber. We then took the 100 foot cable and wrapped it in circles around the log. One end of the cable was hooked to a grab midway between the ends of the log. The other end was attached to the horses.
The horses moved forward rolling the log across the field about 90 feet. The five foot timber was again placed perpendicular to the log. The horses rolled the log onto the timber. Once more the cable was wrapped around the log. This process was repeated until the log was at the skidway ready for the loading onto the truck.
It took four of us with peeves to roll the log onto the truck bed. There was no space for a second log. That was the only time I ever saw our truck fully loaded with just one log. The second log in that giant red oak tree was rolled to the skidway in the same manner. It was small enough on both ends to place a small diameter log alongside the big log. The other end was attached to the horses.
The horses moved forward rolling the log across the field about 90 feet. The five foot timber was again placed perpendicular to the log. The horses rolled the log onto the timber. Once more the cable was wrapped around the log.
The second log in that giant red oak tree was rolled to the skidway in the same manner. It was small enough on both ends to place a small diameter log alongside the big log.
The Us Larne tract: The Osbornes owned a small timbered tract a few miles away that adjoined a church property, and a small cemetery. Locally it was known as “Hells Half Acre.” The Osborne brother who owned the 10- foot cross out saw attended the church and never used the local name His brother was not religious. He did seem to know where the local bars were located.
This timber tract was completely harvested in about two weeks. The logs were sold to Quillen Lumber in Rupert. Later that year we were back at the home farm. One morning before going to school Dad summoned me to the big barn as they needed to “doctor” one of my favorite horses Bell was very sick, Dad had me get up in the barn loft at the front window. With a rope on hey halter I pulled her head upward so they could pour medicine down her throat. It was too late. During the second dose she fell to the ground, shortly thereafter she gasped her last breath. It was a sad day at school for me.